WBB: No. 6 Louisville Resists UConn’s Ducharme in Mohegan Sun Showdown

A valiant effort on the stage of Mohegan Sun wasn’t enough for the short-handed Connecticut Huskies to avoid more dubious program history on Sunday late afternoon.

An early career day for freshman Carolina Ducharme (24 points, 8 rebounds) went for naught, as the seventh-ranked Huskies fell to No. 6 Louisville by a 69-64 final at the Basketball Hall of Fame Showcase at the home of the WNBA’s Connecticut Sun. Still missing star contributors Paige Bueckers, Azzi Fudd, Aubrey Griffin and Nika Muhl, the Huskies (6-3) are off to their worst nine-game since a matching mark in 2004-05.

Promise and potential continued to emerge from those called upon to step in the wake of the medical absences: Ducharme played all 40 minutes and sank 10 of 20 attempts from the field while Dorka Juhasz (15 points, 8 rebounds) fell just short of her second straight double-double. UConn took an early 16-9 lead at the end of the first quarter, fueled by a 12-2 run to open the affair. The Huskies kept their lead stable by forcing 11 turnovers, including a stretch where Louisville lost the ball on six consecutive possessions in the second quarter. But in subtle foreshadowing, Louisville trimmed the lead down to three thanks to three quick triples, two from Ahlana Smith and another from Kiana Smith.

The Cardinals (10-1) worked their way back into the game with a healthy dose of outside shooting and physicality: they sank 8-of-15 attempts from three-point range and doubled the Huskies up in trips to the foul line, successfully converting 17-of-20 from the charity stripe. UConn’s slim lead at the break was quickly erased via an 11-2 run exclusively curated by Kiana Smith and Haley Van Linth.

Ducharme and Juhasz rebuilt the Connecticut advantage, the latter dishing out an assist on an Aaliyah Edwards layup to put them back on top. But the Cardinals saved their sharpest shooting for the final frame, hitting all three attempts beyond the arc to clinch the victory. Van Linth gave the Cardinals a permanent lead with a triple coming with just under four minutes remaining before nailing another that knocked the wind out of the Huskies’ late comeback effort.

Emily Engstler would help clinch the affair in the interior: her steal from Christyn Williams led to an opportunity at the foul line after she was stifled in the paint with 90 seconds remaining. She’d sink both free throws to build up Louisville’s largest lead of the day, which summited at six before the final horn.

Van Lith and Kianna Smith shared the Louisville lead in scoring with 16 apiece while Williams also reached double-figures for the Huskies at 10. Ahlana Smith had 11 off the bench for the Cardinals, whose reserves outscored UConn’s underrepresented effort 22-4.

The Huskies will work through a ten-day layover before resuming conference play on Dec. 29 against Marquette in Hartford (7 p.m. ET, SNY). That post-Christmas get-together will be a rematch of the most recent Big East title game, a 73-39 UConn win in Uncasville.

Geoff Magliocchetti is on Twitter @GeoffJMags